This lecture by Elektra Diakolambrianou discusses the ways in which role-playing is used in transformative, therapeutic, and psychotherapeutic applications. She briefly discusses many types of role-taking, narrative, and play activities already transpiring within established psychotherapeutic modalities. Additionally, she highlights how geek culture and superheroes are currently used as a means to connect with clients. Then, Diakolambrianou explores the ways in which board games, video games, tabletop role-playing games, and larps can be used in psychotherapeutic settings, discussing the conditions that are necessary to establish such settings safety and ethically.
Bio: Elektra Diakolambrianou is a Greek psychologist and researcher with post-graduate studies in person-centred psychotherapy, art therapy, and social psychology. She works as a psychotherapist; a lecturer at the Institution for Counseling and Psychological Studies in Athens; as well as an associate counselor and researcher at NGOs that work with refugees, migrants, and ex-convicts. Her journey in larp began in 2017, soon leading her to explore the psychotherapeutic, educational, and political dimensions of larp. Since 2019, she has been a member and co-founder of LARPifiers, a Greek-based larp designer non-profit company, where she works as a larp designer, organizer, and project manager.